I have not done as good of a job at updating the blog as I would have liked, but I have an excuse and it’s school. I’m taking 18 graduate-level credits this semester and it is pretty draining. I am working towards my Master of Science in Administration with a leadership concentration. I only have so much mental bandwidth and unfortunately is goes to school instead of fun, creative thoughts that I might post here.

I have had some creative thoughts and ideas that I wanted to touch on here, but I really haven’t had time to really expand on them. If I do have some free time I try to spend it with family or friends and that’s what I’ve been doing.

All things considered, I’ve had a good summer! I had two weeks of annual training and then two and a half weeks of a warfighter exercise so I did lose about a month of summer to Army training. But I learned so much through those experiences and I made some good relationships. Aside from Army training and classes I made a couple of camping trips with friends and family and made it to a couple of weddings. Pretty recently I went tailgating in Wisconsin for their game against Central Michigan University and then this past weekend (10/12/2019) I went to Central Michigan’s homecoming and had a lot of fun with old college friends. Below is a mash-up of my summer photo highlights:

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School has been going well and I actually had a really interesting emotional intelligence class during the summer. That class was actually valuable and I think I learned some stuff. For the most part, though I’ve been jumping through the hoops and not absorbing too much. I am a firm believer in Pareto’s principle which says that 80% of the result comes from 20% of the effort. An 80% is passing so if I can get away with 20% effort in the classes you better believe I’ll do it. Most of the classes are a waste of time anyway. If I want to be a better leader I would be reading biographies of great leaders and I would spend more mental bandwidth trying to lead as an officer in the Army National Guard. Instead, that mental bandwidth is going to classwork. As much as I complain about it I am excited that I’ve been given the opportunity to get a free master’s degree. Maybe someday it will get me where I want to go.

In lieu of my lack of creative thoughts, here is an assignment I did for a diversity class. I interviewed my Brazilian coworker Denis:

Diversity Interview

For the personal interview paper assignment, I chose to interview my coworker – Denis. Denis works as a welder at the guitar shop where I work. Denis is originally from Brazil where he met an American girl studying abroad. They fell in love and at first, she intended to stay in Brazil. However, Denis’s family encouraged him to follow her back to America where they believed there would be more opportunities for him. Denis doesn’t get to see his family much unless he travels to see them in Brazil. However, at the time of this interview, his parents had just left after visiting and staying with him for a month on their first trip to visit him in the United States.

Q: Growing up what was your perception of the work culture in Brazil? Do you think it was accurate?
A: “My perception of work culture in Brazil was that in order to do well, in whatever job it was, you needed to work hard. Growing up I watched my dad work hard and get ahead based on his work ethic. When I started working, I found that was true – hard workers were rewarded.”

Q: When you came to America what was your perception of the work culture? How has it changed since you’ve been here?
A: “When I came to America, I thought that you needed an education to; 1. Get a job, and 2. succeed. Now I know there are many jobs you can get without having an education but I think in order to really be successful in America, unless you get lucky, an education is necessary.”

Q: What are the biggest differences in work culture between America and Brazil and how do they affect you?
A: “I think the work culture in America is more easy going. People can have flexible schedules or time off depending on their situation. The pressure to work at a fast pace is less in America. Also, there’s not such a thing as a “sick day” in Brazil, unless you have a doctor’s note.”

Q: How did you feel when you worked with people from different cultures?
A: “I think it depends on the person. I’ve worked with Americans who are hard to get along with and I’ve worked with Americans who have become great friends. It really depends on the person, not their culture, I guess.”

Q: What were the benefits that you got from working with people from different cultures?
A: “Learning new working styles and understanding how someone else might approach a project differently from me.”

Q: What were the challenges that you faced with working with people from different cultures?
A: “Adapting to a different work philosophy was hard at first. In the beginning, language was the biggest challenge, obviously. Sometimes people don’t have the patience.”

Q: Have you suffered any discrimination or stereotyping based on your ethnicity?
A: “Yes, like I said before, some people are hard to get along with. If you’re having a bad day it’s easy to take it out on someone different from you. Or someone new to the company. Or someone you don’t respect for whatever reason. But that’s not only an American thing.”
Q: Has a shift in the US political climate ever caused any issues for you or does it cause any anxiety or concern?
A: “Not really. I believe if you came into this country the right way, you shouldn’t feel any anxiety or concern. I’m here legally, paying taxes like any American or other legal immigrant. I don’t use food stamps or government aid. That gives me peace.”

Q: Are there any obstacles that you have had to overcome? How did you overcome them?
A: “The language barrier took some time and practice. Also getting used to American customs – small things like greetings and goodbyes are different than in Brazil.”

Q: What was the hardest thing to adapt to when you moved to the United States?
A: “The climate was hard to adapt to because I came from a tropical country. Driving in the snow was tough at first. Being away from family and friends was hard and it never gets easier.”

Denis has faced discrimination as have many foreigners in America. However, Denis is able to take it in stride and stay focused on working hard and making the most of his opportunities here. He is fortunate to have the support of his American wife not only emotionally, but with a marriage visa. That makes his path to employment much easier than many less fortunate immigrants. Apart from dealing with discrimination and cold Michigan winters adapting to the language and the work culture has been difficult. However, Denis finds being away from friends and family the hardest, which is a good reminder that no matter where you are from there is always common ground and that our core values might actually be more similar than they are different.

…hope you enjoyed my homework more than I did! Hopefully, I can get back in the groove and think more creatively and post more often!

-Sam